The University of Hawaiʻi was honored for two of its graduation initiatives that are national models. Before an audience of 600 higher education leaders and advocates from around the country, Complete College America (CCA) announced that UH is the inaugural recipient of two President’s Awards at the national nonprofit’s 2016 annual meeting in San Francisco, California.

Complete College America sponsored a “15 to Finish Institute” in which 22 member states heard details of the highly successful UH campaign and were provided with material to start their own “15 to Finish” campaigns. More from UH News…

UH’s 15 to Finish campaign has gained national attention. Most recently, it was a featured presentation at the Complete College America meeting in December 2012, with 33 states in attendance. Executive Vice President Johnsrud provided a summary of how UH’s 15 to Finish was born along with initial results of the strategy to reduce students’ time to degree.

The original keynote presentation at Summit II by Executive Vice President Linda Johnsrud has been updated and emphasis added on the 15 to Finish media campaign. This presentation is being shared with campuses and groups.

More incoming freshmen at UH campuses registered for 15 or more credits for the Fall 2012 semester than first-time freshmen who registered between Fall 2009 through Fall 2011. Overall, the share of classified undergraduates across the UH System who registered for 15 or more credits also increased. Data tables (.pdf).

Students who took 15 or more credit hours performed better than those who took less than 15 credits across nearly all levels of academic preparation according to an analysis of first-time students attending UHs two- and four-year campuses from fall 2009 to fall 2011.